The Story of Thalia Grace
by turtleducklings
Summary: Whoa there. What do you mean, I'm supposed to either destroy or save humanity? Isn't that a job for someone, who, you know, actually cares? ON PERMANENT HIATUS.
1. I Start Going Crazy

the story of thalia grace.

**thalia**

( _hunter of artemis, mistress of thunder_ )

disclaimer: not mine.

* * *

I opened my eyes to the sound of breaking glass and hysterical laughing. My mother was home… and she was drunk. Again.

I sighed and pulled myself out of bed. I didn't understand; why me? Why was this incredible burden heaped on me? I was sick of caring for my alcoholic mother, on top of taking care of myself.

I dragged myself out of my tiny bedroom at the end of the hallway in our apartment, and walked down the hall to find my mother doubled over in laughter in the living room. I sighed. Stupid. A broken beer bottle sat by her feet. She held another bottle in her hand. Beer sloshed out as the laughs racked her body.

"Mom?"

She stopped laughing and looked up. "You." She said pointing a finger at me. "You're the one that idiot Zeus gave me."

I sighed. Might as well humor her. It could save me another beating. "Yeah, mom, I'm what Zeus gave you." _Who the heck is Zeus?_

She scowled and walked over to me, putting her face in front of mine. Her gray eyes bore into my skull. "Are you being disrespectful to me again?"

_Shoot._ "Um… no."

"I think you are. You're my _daughter_," She said the word disgustedly, as though she couldn't stand the fact that we were related. "I deserve more respect from you."

"Sure." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. I instantly regretted it.

"IMPUDENT CHILD!" She screamed. She flew at me, beer bottle raised above her head. Before I knew it, the bottle came crashing down on my arm, which I had raised in protection of my face. The bottle shattered, leaving shards of glass in my forearm.

"Agh!" I yelled. I ran behind the couch, putting a barrier between me and my insane mother.

I thought she was going to come after me again, but she just laughed. "That'll teach you." She said as she sat down on the couch, leaving her back to me. "That'll teach…" Her voice trailed off and her shoulders sagged. I came around to the front of the couch to see what had happened. She had fallen asleep mid-sentence.

I sighed. I had half a mind to just leave her there. Let her drag herself to the bathroom when all that alcohol came back up later. But I'd probably end up having to clean barf off the rug, because she wasn't going to do something like that herself.

I sighed once more. Then I bent over and picked her up, carrying her to her bedroom, which was right next to the small bathroom in the hall. There was more of a chance that she'd make it to the toilet before all the beer came up when she woke up later.

With that done, I went into the bathroom and picked the glass out of my arm. After that, I disinfected it and bandaged it up. I would definitely have to wear long sleeves to school today.

_Bleck. School._ I thought as I pulled a plain black long sleeved shirt over my head. I wasn't the… best student, I guess you could say. I had ADHD, which made it hard to concentrate during class, and on top of that I had dyslexia, which made it hard to read the boatloads of homework they sent us home with every day.

The teachers were okay, I guess. I knew that they suspected that my mom was probably beating me. But I didn't want their help. I could take care of myself.

After I got dressed, I went back into the restroom again. I brushed my teeth and ran a comb through my short, black hair. I put some black eyeliner around my electric blue eyes. Checked among my freckles for zits; there were none. I pulled on a black jacket. I grabbed my backpack and an apple as I walked out the door. Just another morning in the life of Thalia Grace.

* * *

School was a nightmare. I got sent to the principle's office twice and was given detention for every day after school for the next week. I sighed as I sank into one of the desks at the back of the detention room.

This was stupid. So incredibly stupid. I grabbed my iPod out of my backpack and put the headphones in my ears as the detention teacher walked in the room and sat down at her desk.

I settled back into my desk and closed my eyes. The only upside of this was that I was prolonging going to home to my mother.

Soon I had the feeling that I was being watched. I opened my eyes to find the teacher, Ms. Forrester, looming above me.

Jennifer Forrester was one of the younger, prettier teachers at the school. She taught sixth grade English, so I had to sit in her class for an hour every day.

Looking at her, with her wavy, blonde locks and her amber eyes, you'd think she'd be pretty cool. Turned out she's a tyrant. She gave tons of homework, and she screamed and yelled and gave you an unspeakable amount of hours in detention if she caught you breaking any one of her rules in class.

So, I was naturally a little scared when she appeared in front of me, looking pretty ticked off.

I took the headphones out of my ears. "Can I help you, Ms. Forrester?"

"Ms. Grace." She frowned at me. I saw something glint in her eye. It looked like… delight? She was happy that I was in trouble once more? "Ms. Grace. Come with me."

I got up, grabbed my backpack, and followed her out of the classroom. She led me down the darkening hallway into the gym. She held the door open for me, and I walked into the room, my boots squeaking on the hardwood floor.

I wondered what I was in trouble for. Was it against the rules to listen to music in class? Did she finally catch me selling cigarettes to the eighth graders? I wondered if she'd accept my excuse… the cigarettes were the only way I could keep the older kids from pushing me around. I decided to just get it over with and ask why I was here.

"So… what's up?" I asked, turning around. But Ms. Forrester wasn't there anymore. "Ms. Forrester?" I called. I turned around again. But she was nowhere in sight.

But then I spotted something that scared the crap out of me: two glowing, red eyes, in the darkest corner of the gym. I gasped and slowly backed away towards the doors to the gym. Then I turned and full out ran. I slammed into the doors, but they wouldn't budge.

The owner of the red eyes emerged from the shadows. It was Ms. Forrester… but it wasn't.

She now had illuminated red eyes… but that wasn't the freakiest part. What was even weirder than those eyes, were her legs. One looked like it was made completely out of bronze, and the other was a shaggy-furred donkey leg.

"Thalia Grace, did you really think you could hide from us? When my master finds out that your father broke the pact…" She let the threat hang there. But I wasn't really paying attention. I couldn't tear my eyes away from those legs.

"What… what are you?"

She smiled and chuckled. "I am an _empousa_, servant of Kronos, the Lord of time."

I sat there in shock. "A _what_?"

She smiled and approached me. I backed up, the doors pressing into my backpack. "No matter. All that matters is your… and your father's… death."

Then her eyes glowed even brighter, and she bared her fangs… wait… _fangs_? She chuckled. "I shall enjoy this… it's been a while since I've tasted a demigod's blood." Then she flew at me. I hardly even had time to wonder what she meant by "demigod."

I sidestepped and ran from her, towards the double doors on the opposite side of the gym.

They slammed shut just as I reached them. I turned around, panicking. I started to run. _Maybe I can tire her out._ I knew it was unlikely, but it was better than standing there waiting to have my blood sucked out.

"You cannot run forever, daughter of Zeus!" There was that Zeus thing again. But I didn't have time to worry about that. She was getting closer by the minute. I jumped onto the bleachers and began running up the steps. That's when the strangest thing happened.

_Thalia. In your backpack._

I jumped. _What was that?_

_There is no time to waste. There are items in your backpack that will assist you. Put some distance between yourself and the empousa, and then open your bag. You will know the items when you see them._

"What?" I said aloud. But I listened and sped up, jumping down from the bleachers and running towards the gymnastics equipment. A plan fabricated by a figment of my imagination was better than no plan at all.

I ducked behind a stack of blue rubber mats and opened my bag. Sitting on top of my jacket was a Mace canister and a silver bracelet. I put the bracelet on and opened the canister. How pepper spray was going to help me against a blood-sucking monster, I didn't know. But when I opened it, it transformed in my hand, turning into a long spear. I yelped and dropped it.

Then I looked up. Ms. Forrester was running full speed at me. I didn't trust it, but nonetheless, I picked up the spear and ran away from her, zipping up my backpack and slinging it over my shoulder as I went.

_The bracelet. Tap the charm._ I shrugged and obeyed the voice. A large silver disk spiraled out. It was a shield, the kind that I'd only seen in gladiator movies. It had a terrible image of a monster on it. It seriously freaked me out. If I weren't so afraid of the vampire thing behind me, I probably would have dropped it and run away as quickly as I could.

I looked over my shoulder to check how close Ms. Forrester was. She was right behind me. I turned back around to continue running when – _BAM_! I ran straight into a wall.

She had me cornered now. I surveyed the wall, looking for weak spots. Nothing. I turned around. Ms. Forrester had stopped running now, and was facing me, fangs glinting in the darkness. "I shall enjoy slaying you, daughter of Zeus."

I spun around, holding my shield in front of me. "No!" She screamed. "Not that! Not that!" She backed away slowly, her arms over her face.

I inched closer, backing her up so that I had room to run. But she overcame her shock pretty quickly, because she shook herself and then lunged at me. I blocked with my shield. She knocked me over, but at least my blood was safe – but not for long.

She went into a roll as she fell and then pounced again. I did the only thing I could think of in this situation – I whipped my spear around and pointed it at the monster.

She made a terrible noise as she impaled herself on my spear. Then she exploded into yellow dust.

I coughed as I waved my hand in front of my face.

I opened my backpack and pulled out the lid from the canister. I touched it to the spear head and the entire thing quickly transformed back into a can of pepper spray. I tapped the center of the shield and it spiraled back into a bracelet.

I stared in awe at the two things in my hands. _Did that really… just happen?_

_No, I must be going crazy. Things like that don't happen in real life. Only in cheap horror movies. But then again…_

_What did she call me back there? Daughter of Zeus? My mom said something about Zeus giving me to her… wait._

_Zeus giving something… he can give a daughter to a woman if he… ew! Zeus and my mom? Gross!  
But who is Zeus… name sounds familiar… something from history class…_

_That's it! The Greek gods! Zeus was the most powerful of them, the leader of the Olympians._

_They did have children with mortals in the myths, but… the gods couldn't _still_ be around… could they?_

I sat down on the gym floor and put my head in my hands. I didn't know what to do. This wasn't the first time something weird like this happened to me. Maybe it wasn't quite so extreme the other times, but still.

That's when I made my decision. No more monsters. No more abuse from my drunkard mom. No more school. No more eighth grade bullies to sell cigarettes to.

I was going to escape it all in one simple, single, drastic move.

I was going to run away.


	2. I Team Up With Peter Pan

the story of thalia grace.

**thalia**

( _hunter of artemis, mistress of thunder_ )

disclaimer: not mine.

* * *

It was easy getting home and packing without my mom seeing. She was still knocked out in her room.

I changed into fresh clothes: my Green Day t-shirt, jeans, and high-tops. I packed my backpack quickly. I stole some money from my mom's wallet. I felt kind of guilty, but convinced myself that I was taking away money that she would otherwise use for more alcohol. If anything, I was doing her a favor.

I counted the money, $136 in all. _This should last me a while._ I thought.

I went over to the cabinets and packed some food, mostly stuff that would last a while: beef jerky, a package of crackers, some dried fruit.

I slipped my canister into my pocket and made sure I was wearing my bracelet. I would no doubt run into monsters sometime or another, and I needed these things to protect myself.

I put on my jacket and slung my bag over my shoulder. I considered leaving my mom a note, but decided against it. She wouldn't hardly notice if I was gone or not, except that the house might get dirtier without me to pick up.

I opened the door and locked it behind me.

_Here goes nothing._

* * *

I blinked awake to bright yellow sunshine. I yawned and stretched. _Ugh._ I thought as I stood up.

Last night's sleep had not been very pleasant. I had walked until what I figured to be about 4:00 AM before I decided to stop for the night. I had slept on an out-of-the-way concrete bench at a small park near the edge of town.

I walked down the street to a bus stop. The bus came, and I hopped on. I paid the fare, then sat down near the front. I needed to be able to get out quickly if there happened to be a monster on the bus.

I rode to the end of the line, and then hopped off. I was at the very edge of town, near some railroad tracks. I walked along them, not caring where they led. I just had to get away from here.

I walked until I felt like I couldn't take another step. There was a small wood at the edge of the tracks. I went in a ways before setting up camp in a small grove.

I built a small fire pit, and then lit a fire with a lighter I had brought with me. I took a sleeping bag out of my backpack and unrolled it.

I had just crawled in before I heard some rustling in the bushes. I jumped up, opening my canister and tapping my bracelet. In seconds, I had a spear and a shield.

I walked cautiously towards the bushes, holding my shield in front of my and raising my spear into attack position.

I heard growling, and an enormous dog jumped out of the bushes. I yelped and jumped back. It looked like a rottweiler, but it wasn't. The face was a little more smashed, and the eyes were glowing red. Yep, definitely a monster.

It growled again before leaping at me. It pushed me to the ground, knocking my spear from my hand as it went. I reached for it, but the dog was on top of me now, snapping at my neck. The only thing standing between its mouth and my throat was my shield, which I held onto with all my strength.

Just as it was about to knock my shield out of my hands, I heard a sickening noise. _Thlick._ Suddenly there was a bronze knife sticking out of the dog's side. The dog whimpered before exploding into yellow dust.

I jumped up, holding my shield in front of me. "Where are you? Show yourself!" I circled, looking around the clearing. I grabbed my spear as I shouted again, "That knife didn't throw itself… come out!"

I heard rustling in the bushes behind me. I spun around as a boy emerged from the bushes. I held up my shield defensively and made sure I had my spear ready.

He looked about my age, maybe a little older. He had tussled blonde hair, upturned eyes, and a mischievous smile. He reminded me of Peter Pan.

He held his hands up in a defensive position, and he was cowering a little, not coming very close, but slowly making his way around the clearing, keeping a safe distance from me.

I had already figured out that my shield had some magic power. It probably had something to do with the monster on the front.

"Put the shield down… I'm not gonna hurt you."

I ignored his request. I had learned not to trust anybody. "Who are you?"

He smiled. "Luke Castellan. Who are you?"

"Thalia."

He slowly crossed the clearing to his knife. He cleaned it on a patch of wet grass by his feet and then slipped it into a scabbard fastened to the inside of his jacket. "No last name?"

What is a last name, exactly? All it was to me was a reminder of a life I was determined to leave behind. But I didn't tell him any of that. I had just met the guy. So I answered, "Not one you need to know."

He nodded, smiling at me. Why exactly was this guy so _happy_? It made me sick! Here I was, fighting for my life, and he saved me… why should this have made him happy? Proud of himself, maybe, but _happy_? This guy was weird.

I studied him for a moment more before asking, "Why'd you help me, anyways? I'm a complete stranger to you."

He shrugged. "I don't know… maybe because we're not too different, you and I."

"How do you know we're not different? We just met three seconds ago, under very strange circumstances."

"Exactly. The circumstances tell it all. Not many get attacked by monsters and actually see them. You're a half-blood."

I tipped my head to the side. "A _what_?"

"You know, a half-blood… half human, half… wait, you don't know any of this?"

The truth was, I did know _some_ of it. I could very easily tell him about the whole empousa episode, and about my drunk mother saying that Zeus "gave me" to her. But I still didn't trust him.

Besides, maybe he could enlighten me even more. I wanted to understand what I knew before I told him about it.

So I just shrugged.

He sighed. "Let me tell you, then. You know the Greek gods, right? Well, they're still around. And, like in the myths, they still have kids with mortals. That's what we are – half bloods, half Greek god, half human. My father is Hermes, god of thieves and travelers.

"Because of my heritage, I have a distinct scent, one that monsters are always on the lookout for. I thought that hellhound was after me, but the way it attacked you…" His voice trailed off, and he looked deep in thought. "You must be a half-blood. You have to be."

I believed him. I actually believed him. I don't know what it was; I mean, he sounded absolutely crazy. But, hey, I wasn't exactly that far behind him…

So you know what I did? I closed my shield and put my spear away.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Hmph. About time."

"Listen," I said as I put my spear in my backpack, "I trust you. But only because you know things – things about all this 'half-blood' stuff. But give me one reason not to trust you, and I'm outta here."

He nodded. "I understand." He looked at the fire longingly. "Um… you mind if I sit?"

"Fine."

He sat down heavily. He crossed his legs Indian-style and put his hands under his chin, resting his elbows on his knees. I sat down across from him, on the other side of the small fire.

"So… do you have any idea at all who your parent might be?" he asked.

"Well…" I didn't want to tell this boy about my mom. About how she _had_ said something about Zeus, but was drunk at the time. I didn't want to tell him about that _empousa_, and how I had almost become vampire food. But… I sighed. He seemed genuinely interested, like he really wanted to help me. He might use the information to help me.

"Well… my mom said something about Zeus giving me to her." I said vaguely and slowly. "And there was this empousa-"

"Wait. Did you say empousa?"

I nodded. "Why?"

"Oh, never mind. Did she say anything?"  
"Yeah… she said something like, 'You cannot hide forever, daughter of Zeus!'"

Luke was really excited now. "This is incredible! I thought people like you didn't exist anymore! Not after World War II!"

"Wait. What?"

"Well, turns out World War II was caused by half-bloods like you. So, the gods made a pact not to sire any of your kind anymore. But apparently Zeus broke the pact!" He jumped up, doing a little dance. "Ha ha! This is amazing!"

"Wait… 'half-bloods like me'? 'My kind'? What do you mean by that?"

He sat down again. "Children of the 'Big Three'. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. The three most powerful gods of the Olympians." He settled back onto his hands and looked at me thoughtfully. "Normally I wouldn't believe you, but if an empousa said it…" He lay down on the ground, his hands resting behind his head. "I'd believe her."

We sat there in silence for a moment, both of us taking it all in. "You know," he said, startling me. He sat up and looked at me. "We could help each other. I know more about the gods than you do, and you're more powerful than me. We can make it. Together, we can make it. Without that stupid camp to help us."

I raised an eyebrow. "Wait, now there's a camp?"

He nodded. "Yep. Camp Half-Blood. It's where us demigods go for training and the like. But we don't need them. We can make it on our own just fine."

"But why don't you want to go to camp? We might do a lot better with training."

He sighed and shook his head. "Because when you go to camp, you stay at camp. They don't just train you and then let you loose. You train for the rest of your life. Unless you're lucky enough to get a quest. But those are rare. Only the best campers get those. But after the quest, life goes back to normal, and it's back to mock sword fights and chariot races."

I sat for a moment, considering this. What he said made sense. We could learn from experience, and have more knowledge about monsters and the outside world than any camper. And with each other to watch our backs… it made perfect sense. We could live a life of adventure, without ever having anybody telling us what to do.

I smiled at the thought of Peter Pan. He really was like him…

I nodded. "Makes sense." I held out my hand over the fire. "Team?"

He nodded and shook my hand firmly. "Team. I swear on the River Styx that from here on out, I'll watch your back. We'll be teammates 'till the end." Thunder rumbled above.

I figured I'd better do the same. "And I swear on the River Styx that from here on out, _I'll_ watch _your_ back. We _will_ be teammates until the end." Thunder rumbled once more.

Luke smiled. "Well, we'd better get some rest. I'll take first watch and wake you in a few hours."

I frowned. "Are you sure you don't want me to take first watch? You look tired." The real reason I didn't want him to take watch though, was because I still didn't really trust him. After all, I had just met him less than an hour ago. But, he swore on the River Styx…

He laughed and shook his head. "You're the one who was just in a scrape with a hellhound, not me. I've got enough energy to last me a while. You, your eyelids are already closing."

I frowned again, but he was right. I was very tired. So I reluctantly agreed, slipping into my sleeping bag and lying down. I watched as Luke propped his backpack up behind him as a support and settled down to watch the clearing.

As I closed my eyes, I thought about how nice it would be to have someone watching out for me in this crazy, monster filled world. I smiled. Even if my teammate was Peter Pan.


	3. Luke and I Become Parents

the story of thalia grace.

**thalia**

( _hunter of artemis, mistress of thunder_ )

disclaimer: not mine.

* * *

"Whoa! That's a big one! That's a big one!" Luke yelled as a hellhound jumped out at him.

He dodged it and sliced through it with his celestial bronze sword, reducing the hound to yellow dust.

We resumed our back-to-back position, circling slowly as the pack slowly closed in. "Any more bright ideas, slick?"

"Hey, it wasn't _my_ idea to come up along the river! That was all you, sweetheart!" He argued.

"But-" I was cut off as another dog leaped towards me, I blocked with my shield and stabbed it with my spear. I resumed my sentence. "It wasn't _my_ idea to go into the woods to camp!" I deepened my voice in an imitation of his. "'It'll be great, lots of shelter and firewood! Come on, Thalia!' Well, you forgot to mention the humongous pack of hellhounds waiting for us!"

"Oh, like I could have seen that coming! I'm a child of Hermes, not the Oracle!"

The dogs, probably seeing their chance as we were arguing, all pounced at once. Luke and I spread out, fighting side-by-side instead of back-to-back. One hound jumped at me, baring its teeth and roaring. I knocked it aside with my shield. I saw one attempting to sneak up on Luke. "Behind you!"

He spun around and threw his knife at it. As he turned back around, he gasped. "On your left!"

I maneuvered my spear and thrust it to the side. I could tell by the whimper and the _poof!_ noise that my spear had hit its target. "Thanks!"

"No problem." He sliced in a graceful arc, destroying three hounds at once.

Now there were only four. I raised my spear to attack one, but misjudged my aim and hit its paw. It growled, but didn't explode. I closed my eyes and focused. A jolt of lightning traveled down the spear and into the hellhound. It promptly turned into a cloud of dust.

I turned to face the others, which Luke had reduced from three to one. This last one was definitely not going down without a fight. It snarled and jumped at me. I rammed it with my shield. It fell to the ground, dazed.

Suddenly, I felt a strange tugging feeling in my gut. All of a sudden, a thin, white lightning bolt came out of the sky and struck the hound. When the smoke cleared, the dog was gone.

I turned to Luke, who was breathing as heavily as I was. He gave me a thumbs-up.

He then sheathed his sword, and I turned my weapons back into seemingly normal items.

We checked the clearing once more, just to be sure, but there were no hounds left. I smiled at him. "We make a good team."

He laughed. "We make a _great_ team. Who needs Camp Half-Blood, huh? We've got this down to a science."

I laughed and sat down in the center of the clearing. He plopped down next to me.

It'd been four months since I'd met Luke. It'd been a hard four months, with constant monster attacks. We never really knew if we were truly safe or not. There was no way of telling.

But for the first time in a long time, I'd finally felt like I was home. I felt like I belonged. I was needed here. I was needed with my mom too, but it felt different there. Here it felt like it actually _mattered_.

With Luke, I felt freedom. We never knew where we were going, we just _went_. Right now we were somewhere in the middle of Virginia, as far as we could figure.

We sat in quietly for a few minutes before Luke finally broke the silence. "Thals, we really should get going. I know we need rest, but after that pack of hellhounds…" His voice trailed off.

I sighed, slightly annoyed. But he was right. "Okay." I got up and grabbed my stuff. He did the same. And then we set off.

The next morning, we were in Richmond.

"We should try to find some food." Luke commented as we walked quietly along. Then he tensed up. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into an alley. He crouched in the shadows, pulling me down next to him.

"What is it?" I asked, alarmed. I looked around the alley. It was between two red-brick warehouses. It took me a minute to decipher, but a sign above one of the doors read RICHMOND IRONWORKS.

Luke put a finger to his lips and pulled out his knife. I followed his lead and got my spear and opened my shield.

I tilted my head sideways, giving him a questioning look.

"Either a monster or another half-blood."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Something down here. I can sense it."

I jumped as a rumble echoed down the alley. I poked my head out from behind the dumpster where we were hiding. There was a large sheet of corrugated tin at the end of the alley. It was shivering as though something was shaking behind it.

I grabbed Luke's arm and jerked my head towards the end of the alley. He looked over my shoulder. He nodded and stood up, crouching in a defensive position, his knife ready. I held my shield up in front of me, creeping quietly behind him.

I glanced at Luke. He counted silently: _One, two three!_ He pulled away the tin, and a little girl flew at him with a hammer. "Whoa!" Luke yelped.

The girl had matted blonde hair and was wearing baby blue flannel pajamas. She couldn't have been older than seven. She swung the hammer at Luke, but he quickly grabbed her wrist, and the hammer skittered across the pavement.

She fought and kicked, but Luke held onto her. "No more monsters!" She yelled. "Go away!"

"It's okay!" Luke said, struggling. He looked at me. "Thalia, put your shield up. You're scaring her."

I nodded and put my shield back into its bracelet form. "Hey, it's all right," I said, crouching down next to her. "We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia. This is Luke."

"Monsters!" she protested.

"No," Luke promised. "But we know all about the monsters. We fight them too."

She slowly stopped kicking. Then she studied me and Luke quietly. Her eyes were large and startlingly gray. There was so much intelligence behind them, it overwhelmed me.

"You're like me?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yeah," Luke said. "We're… well, it's hard to explain, but we're monster fighters. Where's your family?" he asked.

"My family hates me," she said with a frown. "They don't want me. I ran away."

Luke locked eyes with me. I sympathized with the poor girl. I felt the same way when I made the choice to run away nearly half a year ago.

I crept closer to her. "What's your name, kiddo?"

"Annabeth."

Luke smiled. "Nice name. Tell you what, Annabeth – you're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you."

Her eyes doubled in size. "You could?"

"Oh, yeah." Luke flipped his knife around, offering her the handle. "How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon? This is Celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer." She took the knife, studying it intensely. "Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters," Luke continued. "They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and can find weak spots in your enemies' armor. It takes a pretty clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you're pretty clever."

Annabeth stared at him, the adoration obvious in her large gray eyes. "I am!"

I smiled at her. "We'd better get going, Annabeth. We have a safe house on the James River. We'll get you some clothes and food."  
She looked skeptical. "You're… you're not going to take me back to my family?" she asked. "Promise?"

Luke put his hand on her shoulder. "You're part of _our_ family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you. I'm _not_ going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?"

Annabeth grinned from ear to ear. "Deal!"

"Now, come on," I said. "We can't stay put for long!"

We all stood up and started out of the alley. I smiled at Luke and he looked at me questioningly. I glanced at his hand, which was being tightly gripped by Annabeth's. He looked at it for a second, as though he was just realizing that Annabeth was holding his hand. Then he smiled.

"So," Annabeth said. "I guess if we're a family, that makes you my dad, huh, Luke?"

Luke's eyes widened for a moment. Then he laughed. "Yeah, I guess so, Annabeth!" Luke looked at me. "And that probably makes Thalia your mom."

Annabeth giggled and grabbed my hand with her free one. It felt a little awkward, but I didn't mind. "We really are a family, huh?" Annabeth asked.

I smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. "Yeah. Yeah we are. A real family."


	4. A Mummified Hippie Tells Me My Fate

the story of thalia grace.

**thalia**

( _hunter of artemis, mistress of thunder_ )

disclaimer: not mine.

* * *

"I'll take first watch," Luke announced as we ducked inside out hideout just off the Chesapeake.

It had been about three weeks since we'd found Annabeth. We'd taken it pretty slow, considering we had a person who was about half my size coming with us, but we had managed to steer clear of monsters so far.

"No way, no how," I retorted as we set our stuff down. "You took first watch last night. You need more sleep."

Luke rolled out a sleeping bag, then opened it and gestured for Annabeth to get in. She crawled inside and zipped it up, and in no time at all she was snoring.

Luke smiled at her. "Wow. Guess she was tired." He looked at me. "And so are you. You've got these huge, dark canyons under your eyes." He looked closer. "No, wait… maybe it's the makeup."

I rolled my eyes and sat down, crossing my arms over my chest. He had me trapped. Either I could admit that I was tired (which, I was), or I could say that maybe the eyeliner wasn't the best choice after all. He was always saying that I looked nicer without it.

I sighed. "We're all tired, Luke. I really don't mind taking first watch. I haven't had first watch in nearly a month."

He shook his head determinedly. "Nope, I am getting first watch if it's the last thing I do. Just accept my chivalry and get some rest."

I opened my mouth for another retort, but changed my mind. I knew when to admit defeat. I wasn't going to win this one. Luke was one of the most stubborn people I had ever met, and he wasn't going to let this go.

"Fine." I grumbled. He smirked at me as I unrolled my sleeping bag and got in. "Goodnight, Luke."

"Goodnight, Thalia." He said quietly as he sat down in the doorway, his sword resting on the ground beside him. "I'll wake you in a few hours… maybe."

I rolled my eyes before closing them. The last thing I heard before sleep took me was the oddly comforting sound of Luke humming softly along with the crickets' song.

When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in our hideout along the Chesapeake anymore. I was in what looked to be a dusty old attic. I looked around. There were some pretty odd things in there. There was an old bent celestial bronze sword with a tag that read _Johnny's sword after he met up with a Laistrygonian giant. RIP, Johnny._ I almost laughed, but I had the feeling that they weren't kidding.

I looked around. Then I gasped. Because, there, in the window of the attic, was a mummy. _Wait, I thought those were Egyptian?_ I thought. I looked at it. It was dressed like a hippie, with a long floral dress, headband, and beads all around her (I'm assuming it was a her) neck.

All of a sudden, a voice spoke. But that wasn't the weirdest part. The voice spoke _inside my head_. Like, I was thinking the words myself.

_I am the sprit of Delphi,_ the voice said. _Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, Seeker, and ask._

I felt like the words were being ripped out of my mouth. "What is my fate?" _What? Why did I just ask that? I don't even care what my fate is!_ But, I guess the mummy knew that somewhere deep inside I did care, because I had the feeling that she had somehow made me say those words.

The mummy's mouth opened and a green mist came curling out. I was frozen in terror. The mist curled around my feet and spread around the attic floor. She spoke:

_A great prison yields to a maze of stone_

_Mistress of thunder without a home,_

_Must lead a family that was once a pair,_

_Under the ground and to Everyone's lair_

_Take root on a hill to save her friends_

_And after, one choice will her mortal life end_

Then a big _whoosh_ noise sounded throughout the room, and the green fog got sucked back up into the mummy's mouth. I collapsed onto the floor. The last thing I remembered seeing is a door opening in the floor and a boy who looked about my age rushing into the attic and looking around, a sword drawn. He was strange though. He had… were those goat hooves where his feet should have been?

I didn't have time to worry about that though. It was all I could do but hope the goat boy wouldn't see me as the world around me went fuzzy and I fell into darkness.

I gasped and sat bolt upright in my sleeping bag. I looked around, breathing heavily. I was back in our hideout. Luke was standing above me now, sword drawn. Annabeth was still sound asleep. I took a few deep breaths and lay back down, closing my eyes.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked, the urgency clear in his voice.

"Nothing… just a nightmare." I sat up again, crossing my legs as much as the bag would let me.

Luke lowered his sword and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I thought something was really wrong." He sat down next to me, laying his sword next to him. "Wanna tell me about it?"

I shook my head. "It's okay. It was no big deal."

He looked disbelieving, but he let it drop. "Okay, then."

I smiled. Luke was a saint. The best friend I could ever ask for. That's when I realized it – he _was_ my best friend. "Luke?"

He broke his watchful gaze of the doorway of the hut and looked at me. "Yeah, Thalia?"

"I trust you now. I completely and utterly trust you. All my doubts I had when I first met you – they're all gone."

He smiled. "Well, I should hope so, seeing as I've saved your butt about ten thousand times."

I smacked him on the arm, but nonetheless I laughed with him. "I'm serious!"

He chuckled softly. We sat in silence for a while, listening to the crickets sing. "Luke?" I asked again.

He looked at me once more. "Yes, Thalia?"

I took a deep breath. "You wanna know my last name?"

He looked surprised and taken aback. "You sure, Thalia?"

I nodded. "I want you to know."

"Then, yes, tell me."

I sat quietly for a moment while he looked at me expectantly and patiently. "Grace," I said.

"Thalia Grace," he said. He smiled. "I like it. It's a pretty name."

For some stupid reason, I blushed. _What? I _never_ blush? What's wrong with me? It's just Luke!_ "Thanks."

He nodded at me. "You wanna take watch now? I'm kinda tired."

"Oh, yeah, no problem."

"Thanks." He crawled around me as I slipped out of my sleeping bag and he got in. "See you in the morning."

"See you," I said, smiling. I settled myself in the doorway, my hand on my spear. I listened to Annabeth's snoring and Luke's steady breathing. I resisted the urge to close my eyes. The sounds were soothing, familiar.

I thought back to when I blushed. It still confused me. Luke never made me feel so nervous. I wondered what it was about him that was different tonight that he made me blush. Then I realized it wasn't him that was different. It was _me_. I gasped quietly.

_No._ I thought. I had done something I swore I would never do. Because this kind of stuff weakens people. It puts them in danger. It blinds people, disallowing them to do rational things because they can't see straight.

I had messed up and put all of us in danger. I had fallen in love with Luke Castellan.


	5. Luke Has a Family Reunion

the story of thalia grace.

**thalia**

( _hunter of artemis, mistress of thunder_ )

disclaimer: not mine.

* * *

Bright yellow sunshine started to filter in between the cracks in the safe house walls. A beam shined on Luke's face, making him wrinkle his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut tighter.

I smiled at the sight. Luke opened his eyes and groaned before closing them again and resting his forearm on his forehead. "Is it morning already?"

"Yep." I stood up and crouched next to Luke, shaking his arm. "C'mon, Luke… we can't stay here for long and you know it."

He sighed, but he opened his eyes. "All right, all right." He sat up and stretched as a yawn escaped his lips.

I nodded happily and crawled over to Annabeth. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty… it's morning and we've got some ground to cover."

She stirred and murmured, "Cover with what?"

I chuckled. "You know what I mean. Now, up!" I said enthusiastically. She yawned as she sat up. I went over to one of the backpacks and pulled out a pair of jeans, a plain white shirt, and an army jacket. I tossed them onto Annabeth's lap. "Here, put these on. You could use some fresh clothing."

She nodded and started to take her shirt off, then stopped. She stared right at Luke. She whispered, "Not while he's in here."

I threw my head back and laughed. I gave Luke a shove from behind. "You heard the woman… out!"

Luke looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes before dragging himself out of the hut.

While Annabeth got dressed and Luke waited outside, I opened Luke's backpack and pulled out some granola bars and dried apricots.

Annabeth came up behind me. The jeans were slightly baggy, and the jacket was way too big, but it was a step up from the dirty clothes she was wearing before, and at least she was warm.

She sat down in front of me and opened a granola bar. I raised my voice and said, "Okay, Luke, we're good in here."

He walked in and plopped down next to me, grabbing a few of the apricots and popping them in his mouth while reached into the backpack to grab a bottle of water.

I searched my bag for a comb and a hair tie, found said items, and then I went to work on Annabeth's golden hair, working on getting out all the knots while she happily ate her breakfast.

It was slow going, but eventually her hair was smooth and silky, and I combed it up into a neat ponytail.

"Thanks, Thalia." She said before taking a big sip of water.

I smiled and rubbed her shoulder. "No problem, kiddo." I then sat down and started eating.

After breakfast, we started to pack up, rolling up the sleeping bags and putting away the food. Luke and I changed our clothes as well. Then we gathered our bags, and set off.

* * *

"Here we are," I announced as we walked across the border. "Good old Connecticut."

It was three days after we first found Annabeth. After taking seven buses and two trains, we had made it from Virginia to Connecticut. I had asked Luke exactly where we were going, but he had just told me that monsters were near, and we just needed to keep moving.

"What's so good about it?" Luke scoffed.

"Geez," Annabeth said. "What's gotten into you?"

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked. "You should be happy. We've made some good time."

"Nothing." Luke said vaguely. "Just some bad memories here. Come on. Maybe we can make some even better time and be out of here by nightfall."

Annabeth gave me a questioning look, but I just shrugged and walked after Luke, hoisting my backpack over my shoulder.

* * *

Unfortunately, Luke's wishes didn't come true, and we ended up having to create a safe house just outside of New Haven.

He grumbled the entire time, but in almost no time at all we had a reasonable shelter.

We set our bags inside and Luke went out in search of kindling for a fire. I almost offered to go with him, but I didn't want to leave Annabeth alone, and I had a feeling Luke needed some time to himself.

So instead I just sat in the doorway and admired the late afternoon sunshine.

I thought about what I realized a few nights ago. About Luke. And I couldn't help but wonder (and maybe hope) that he feels the same way I do. At least I know for sure that he'd risk his life for me – he'd already done that on multiple occasions.

That it its own way was love, I guessed. But… was it the same type of love?

I sighed and put my face in my hands. None of this made sense anymore. Why did this all have to be so confusing? I tiny part of me wished that he would just disappear so my life could make sense again.

But when I looked up, there he was, the late afternoon sunlight giving him a halo, making his golden hair seem like it was on fire. I must not have heard him coming.

I stood up abruptly. "Luke, I-"

He cut me off, putting his hand over my mouth. "Monsters. Near here. We have to move. _Now_," he whispered quickly.

"What-"

"Come _on_." He grabbed my arm and pulled me inside the shelter, picking up a backpack and tossing me another. He slung the pack over his shoulder and grabbed Annabeth's hand.

I followed, and after slipping the backpack on, I pulled out my spear and opened my shield. Luke unsheathed his sword, and the three of us started running quickly and silently through the forest.

After we got about fifty yards from the hideout, we heard what sounded like an explosion. We all dived behind a cluster of bushes that I sincerely hoped weren't poisonous. But that turned out to be the least of our worries, which we found out as we peeked out from behind our hiding place.

Our safe house was in gone, and in its place was what looked like an over-sized snake with small, stubby legs and feet.

"Drakon," Luke whispered. "I thought they didn't exist anymore."

"That's what you said about me, and look at me now." I said.

"Shut up," he hissed. He inspected it with dread. The monster had apparently picked up our scent, as it was following our trail.

"What do we do, run or fight?" I asked.

Then the drakon looked up suddenly, its red eyes boring into us.

"Run." Luke said. "Definitely run." We all stood up and bolted into the protection of the trees.

The drakon let out a dreadful roar as it started to chase us. Annabeth tripped over a tree root, and Luke quickly hoisted her up into a fireman's carry over his shoulder.

Normally something like this would have made Annabeth angry, but at this particular moment I'm pretty sure she was glad for the help.

Even though it had the shortest legs on the planet, the drakon was fast. In almost no time at all, it was nearly on top of us.

It hissed and bared its teeth. Then it snapped out, aiming for my back. It missed, thankfully – but it hit my leg. Not so thankful anymore.

Luke spun around. "Thalia!" He yelled. He ran after me, trying to reach me, but he wasn't fast enough.

The drakon hoisted me into the air as its teeth ground into my calf. The pain was making me feel faint. Black started to tinge the edges of my vision. But I shook myself and gathered all the strength I had left in me to rear back and stab the thing in the eye with my spear.

The beast roared, and my leg fell out of its now open mouth. I went into a roll as I hit the forest floor, grunting as the wind was knocked from my body.

The drakon shook itself a bit, blood dripping out of its left eye, before it reared back and lunged again. Thankfully, I was able to raise my shield in time and deflected its attack.

It took a few steps back, partly from impact and partly because it had seen my shield and was afraid.

Now Luke had reached me. He set Annabeth down next to me and unsheathed his sword. He lunged at the monster, raising his sword above his head.

The drakon lunged for Luke, baring its fangs as it went. Luke slashed with his sword. The monster reared back its head with a screech of pain, its own blood dripping from its mouth.

Luke took the opportunity to lunge once more. He raised his sword and struck the monster's neck. It would have killed any other monster, leaving a severed head behind. But Luke's sword just bounced off the neck as it made a clanging noise of metal-upon-metal.

Luke gasped in shock. "The armor!" I shouted.

"Thanks, because I didn't already know that!" He shouted as he faced the drakon.

The monster had calmed itself a bit, and was now just staring at Luke. Its eyes seemed to say, _I dare you to come closer._

"Luke!" I shouted once more. "Its mouth! That's the only vulnerable spot!"

A look of revelation crossed Luke's face. He mouthed a few words to himself and rolled his eyes to the sky for a moment, deep in thought, keeping a wary eye on the drakon. Then he nodded, smiled his cocky smile, and took a deep breath. Then he raised his sword into position and charged.

The drakon reared back its head with a roar and lunged for Luke. He threw his long sword toward the beast.

Sure enough, the sword flew straight into its mouth, sticking in the back of its throat. The drakon made a weird, choking noise before dissipating into a cloud of yellow dust, leaving Luke's sword behind.

Luke turned around and smiled, panting heavily. He crossed to the sword and picked it up, staring at it admiringly. He kissed the blade and sheathed it before approaching me and Annabeth, who was holding onto me very tightly.

His smile turned to a frown of concern as soon as he saw my leg.

Upon seeing the look on his face, I said jokingly, "What? You think I can get picked up by a ginormous monster with wicked sharp teeth and walk away without a scratch? And I thought I was the mythology-ignorant one."

A faint smile dominated the grim look on his face, but only for a moment. He bent down and took a closer look at my leg. He touched it lightly with his fingertip.

I winced and bit down on my lip until I tasted blood, trying to keep from screaming aloud.

"Poison," he declared quietly. "Here."

He opened his backpack and pulled out a canteen of nectar. He had me take sip from it, and then he gently poured some onto the wound. I gasped. It hurt _so_ badly. But the pain soon subsided, leaving only a gentle throbbing. He examined it for a moment before asking me, "Does that feel any better?"

I nodded. He nodded happily in reply, a smile on his lips.

The smile vanished when we heard another roar sound from somewhere deeper into the woods.

The color completely disappeared from Luke's face. "It's close. Come on. We have to run."

He helped me and Annabeth up, grabbed our stuff, which included my spear that I had dropped during my fall, and then we started running as fast as we could. Which, actually, wasn't very fast, seeing as Annabeth's legs were short and I was experiencing some pretty brutal pain in my left leg.

But I ignored it, limping as fast as I could after Luke. "Where exactly are we going?" I asked while we were hurrying along.

His mouth was set in a thin line. "We're going to my mom's."

My eyes widened. "Luke, we don't have to. I know that's the last place you want to go, and my leg doesn't actually hurt that-"

"No, Thalia!" he interrupted. "We're going there. I don't care anymore. We need food and you need real medical supplies. I'll be in and out in a matter of seconds."

"Luke, we can't keep this up forever. The monster's eventually going to catch up."

"We're close. I promise." I wasn't sure at all about this. From the little Luke had told me about his mother, I knew she definitely had a screw loose. I understood why Luke didn't want to go back, and I didn't want to make him because of me.

But, it's almost impossible to win an argument against Luke, and I knew he wasn't changing his mind any time soon.

Luke's voice cut into my thoughts. "Just a little farther!" Annabeth stumbled, and Luke grabbed her hand, pulling her along. I fell behind them, watching the back, holding my shield ready.

Ahead of us, the land fell away, revealing a small valley in which a large white house stood. We scrambled down as fast as we could. Luke opened a gate and ushered us into his back yard.

"All right," Luke panted, "I'll just sneak in and grab some food and medicine. Wait here." He turned around and began walking towards the house, but I grabbed his arm, determined to try at changing his mind again.

"Luke, are you sure?" I asked. "You swore you'd never come back here. If she catches you-"

For what seemed like the fiftieth time that day, he interrupted me. "We don't have a choice!" he growled. "They burned our nearest safe house. And you've got to treat that leg wound."

"This is your house?" Annabeth startled us. She hadn't talked since we had left our hideout back in the woods.

"It _was_ my house," Luke muttered. "Believe me, if it wasn't an emergency…"

"Is your mom really horrible?" Annabeth asked eagerly. "Can we see her?"

"No!" Luke snapped at her.

Annabeth cowered a bit. Luke had never spoken to her that way before.

"I… I'm sorry," he said. "Just wait here. I promise everything will be okay. Nothing's going to hurt you. I'll be back-"

A brilliant flash from the woods interrupted him. We all jumped a bit, startled. Had the monster caught up with us?

Then a loud, booming voice sounded: "You should not have come."

A man stepped out of the woods. He was wearing a navy blue jogging outfit and running shoes. The shoes were strange though. White, feathery wings stuck out on either side of each shoe. He used them to fly down from the top of the ridge and land gracefully in front of us.

"Luke, who is this guy?" I whispered. I knew this man was Greek, and since Luke was the Greek mythology expert, I had a feeling he knew who he was.

Luke's lips were in a tight line, and the anger was obvious on his face. He said in a voice like cold stone, "Thalia, this is my father. Hermes, messenger of the gods."


	6. We Hang Out With a Crazy Person

the story of thalia grace.

**thalia**

( _hunter of artemis, mistress of thunder_ )

disclaimer: not mine.

* * *

"Ow." I flinched as May Castellan rubbed some ointment into my torn-up leg. I looked around the room. Candles flickered on the fireplace mantel, reflected in the many mirrors lining the walls.

Ugh. This place gave me the creeps. I suppressed a shiver as I spied another strange beanbag toy. This place was filled with them. Annabeth was playing with one then, a Medusa one.

My eyes flickered to Luke. He and Hermes stood apart in the small living room, staring each other down. Nope. Not awkward at all.

Finally Luke broke the silence that had settled on all of us for the past five minutes. "Why show yourself now?" He demanded. His entire body was tensed up, as though he was getting ready to jump into battle. "All these years I've been calling you, expecting you to show up, and nothing. You left me with _her_." He said it with disgust as he pointed towards May, not bothering to turn and look at her. I could tell he didn't want to.

"Luke, do not dishonor her," Hermes said reproachfully. "Your mother did the best she could. As for me, I could not interfere with your path. The children of the gods must find their own way."

"So it was for my own good," he said, his voice cracking a little. "Growing up on the streets, fending for myself, fighting monsters."

"You're my son," Hermes protested. "I knew you had the ability. When I was only a baby, I crawled from my cradle and set out for-"

"I'm not a god!" Luke interrupted. He seemed to be making a habit of that lately. "Just once, you could've said something. You could've helped when…" he lowered his voice so I couldn't hear him anymore.

I picked up a few words. "She… fits… crazy… fate… hide… glowing… scared… ran…"

Ms. Castellan was done with my leg by now, and had moved on into the kitchen, pouring Kool-Aid for Annabeth and me as she babbled on about Luke when he was a baby.

I mostly just tuned it out and rubbed my now bandaged leg as I thought about this whole situation.

_We shouldn't be here. It's hard enough on Luke as it is, and besides… this place kind of scares me. You can tell a crazy person lives here._

I don't know what gave it away; the collection of small beanbag toys, the moldy sandwiches and burned cookies stacked miles high on the kitchen counter, the mirrors all over the place. Either way, we needed to get out.

I glanced at Annabeth, who was now looking into the living room at Luke, holding up a burned cookie so he could see. _Can we go now?_ She mouthed nervously.

Luke and Hermes were talking at normal volumes again, so I could hear them clearly. "Luke," Hermes said, "I care very much. But the gods must not interfere directly in mortal affairs. It is one of the Ancient Laws. Especially when your destiny…" his voice trailed off as he looked away.

"What?" Luke asked. "What about my destiny?"

"You should not have come back," Hermes murmured. "It only upsets you both. However, I see now that you are getting too old to be on the run without help. I'll speak with Chiron at Camp Half-Blood and ask him to send a satyr to collect you."

"We're doing fine without your help," Luke growled. "Now, what were you saying about my destiny?" He demanded.

The wings on the god's shoes fluttered restlessly. He stared at Luke for a moment, as though he was contemplating telling him. But he just said, "My son. I'm the god of travelers, the god of roads. If I know anything, I know that you must walk your own path, even though it tears my heart."  
"You don't love me." Luke accused quietly.

"I promise I… I do love you," Hermes protested. "Go to camp. I will see that you get a quest soon. Perhaps you can defeat the Hydra, or steal the apples of the Hesperides. You will get a chance to be a great hero before…" his voice trailed off once more and he avoided Luke's eyes.

"Before what?" Luke's voice was trembling. Gods, I needed to get him out of here before he cracked completely. I knew we shouldn't have come.

"What did my mom see that made her like this?" He asked. "What's going to happen to me? If you love me, _tell_ me."

Hermes expression tightened. "I cannot."

"Then you don't care!" Luke shouted. May's babbling ceased abruptly.

"Luke?" she called. "Is that you? Is my boy all right?"

Luke turned his back to her, trying to hide his face, but I saw he was crying. "I'm fine. I have a new family. I don't need either of you."

"I'm your father," Hermes protested.

"A _father_ is supposed to be around. I've never even _met_ you. Thalia, Annabeth, come on! We're leaving!" I jumped up at hearing my name, despite my leg's loud and painful protest. I grabbed Annabeth's hand as we scrambled out the door after Luke.

The last thing we heard as we were leaving was May Castellan's protests. "My boy, don't go! I have your lunch ready!"

Then the door slammed shut behind us.


	7. We Eat Some Tin Cans

the story of thalia grace.

**thalia**

( _hunter of artemis, mistress of thunder_ )

disclaimer: not mine.

* * *

"Luke, wait up!" I called. He was speeding through the dense forest, hardly even caring if he left Annabeth and me in his dust.

He spun around angrily, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for us to catch up. "Slow down, Luke," Annabeth said in-between pants.

"Luke, if there's something you want to get off your chest, now's the time. I'm not putting up with this anymore," I said hotly, putting my hand on Annabeth's shoulder.

He stared at me fiercely for a moment before softening his gaze and letting his shoulders sag a little. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's just… that didn't go the way I expected."

I felt a little guilty now. I had just chewed him out when really he was just sad. I sighed. "Sorry for yelling."

He shrugged. "S'okay. I was kinda asking for it." He ran a hand through his hair. "You guys wanna stop for the night?"

Annabeth nodded eagerly, and we set up camp in a small, secluded grove surrounded by shrubs. We didn't bother making a safe house. It went unspoken… we all knew we weren't coming back here. Ever.

After Annabeth was safely in bed, I opted to stay up with Luke. "You sure?" he asked.

I nodded. "You've had a rough day, and I know you're not going to sleep tonight. I figure, you need a friend right now."

He gave me a small smile. "Yeah. I do. Thanks." We sat back-to-back, his hand on his sword, mind on my spear.

_Oh gods_, I thought as I felt my heart speeding up. _You're alone with him. Stay calm. Be cool._ "So, um… how are you?" _Really? That's all you can come up with?_ I thought angrily.

Luke shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Still just a little upset about today…" he let out a big sigh. "It's just hard, you know?"

"Yeah. We all have family problems. It kinda comes in the whole 'demigod package'."

He laughed. I tried to ignore how hot his back felt through my jacket. Maybe it was just me. Yeah, that's it. "You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." I said a little too quickly. But he must not have noticed, because he didn't say anything.

After a few moments of silence, Luke said, "You know, Thalia, I'm really fine if you want to sleep."

"No, I'm fine to stay up," I protested.

"I really think you need to get some sleep. You need rest after the whole drakon attack today."

_Oh, how sweet, he's worried about me!_ I felt all warm and fuzzy until I realized what I just thought. _Oh, great, I sound like friggin' Aphrodite. I've got it bad._ "Fine," I said, standing up and closing my spear on itself. I tucked the canister into my pocket and got into the sleeping bag with Annabeth, tucking her into my side. "Goodnight."

One last smile from Luke. "Goodnight, Thalia."

* * *

My nightmare started off like a regular dream. Nothing out of the ordinary. I was in school, sitting down for class. All of a sudden, I was in a straitjacket. I struggled to get out, but the jacket wouldn't budge. The kids all stood up and started leaving the room; I'm assuming they were leaving for recess. The teacher was saying something, but I couldn't hear her over all the kids' chatter. I listened closer. _Come on, Percy. You're not stupid, are you? Pick up your pencil._ Percy? That wasn't my name. Then I realized I wasn't the only student in here. I looked over to the desk next to mine. In it sat a boy. He had unruly, black hair and the greenest eyes I'd ever seen. He was wearing a straitjacket too.

I struggled with my jacket once more before glaring at the boy and saying huffily, _Well, Seaweed Brain? One of us has to get out of here._ I don't know where the name 'Seaweed Brain' came from, but it seemed to fit. His eyes kind of looked like the color of seaweed, and he just radiated 'ocean.' Don't ask me why, I don't know.

I closed my eyes in concentration and frustration, and when I opened them, I wasn't with Percy in the classroom anymore. Now I was with Luke, sitting on a blanket in a forest. He was grasping my hand tightly and smiling at me. "I love you, Thalia," he said. Then he started leaning in. _He's going to kiss me!_ I thought excitedly. But just before I closed my eyes, I got a better look at his face. There was a thick, white scar running down his right eye.

I jerked back. "Luke, what's that?"

He looked generally confused. "What's what?"

I pointed to the scar. "That!"

He touched his face and a look of recognition crossed his features. "That? Oh, that's nothing." He started leaning in again.

I stood up abruptly, dropping his hand. "No! Tell me where that scar came from!"

Luke stood up and faced me. He drew his sword. "What… what are you _doing_?" I asked furiously. Luke said nothing.

I looked down at myself. Suddenly, my spear and Aegis were in my hands. _What's going on?_ I didn't have much time to wonder, though, because Luke charged me as soon as I had my weapons. He slashed and I blocked, I stabbed and he parried. "Yield!" I yelled. "You never could beat me, Luke." I backed off, waiting for his response.

But Luke started glowing. Glowing golden, like the sun. I shielded my eyes with my hand, falling backwards onto the grass. The last thing I remember is hearing Luke say, "We'll see, my old friend." Then my world went dark.

* * *

"Psst! Thalia! Wake up!" I jerked awake, sitting up quickly, a cry already on my lips. But there was a hand muffling my scream. As I felt the last bits of sleepy fog leave my mind, I registered my surroundings. I was in a forest still. But Annabeth was right here next to me, sleeping peacefully. And instead of trying to kill me, Luke was crouching in front of me, one hand plastered over my mouth, the other holding a finger to his lips.

I wrenched his hand from my face and wiped my mouth. "What is it?" I whispered angrily.

"There's someone coming. Listen." I sat still for a moment, my ears attuned to the sounds of morning in the woods. _Clip. Clop. Clip. Clop._

I looked at Luke and nodded. "I hear it."

"Come on." He grabbed his sword and I took out my spear. We checked the perimeter of the clearing. Luke nodded in the direction of a cluster of bushes. "Past there."

I nodded and followed him. We reached the bushes. Luke nodded again. We charged through the shrubs, holding our weapons ready. We were expecting a monster of some sort. Maybe even a wild animal, or another human.

What we were _not_ expecting was a mix of all three. "AAH!" it yelled.

Luke and I stopped abruptly, our weapons inches from its throat. "What do you want?" Luke asked fiercely. I studied the… _thing_. It looked like a human from the waist up, but its lower half was made up of hairy goat legs. Instead of feet it had cloven hooves. _That must've been what was making the noise…_ There had a backpack hoisted over one of its shoulders. A Rasta cap topped its head. There were bits of curly brown hair sticking out around the bottom of the hat. Both its arms were raised in surrender.

"Don't kill me!" It pleaded.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Grover Underwood. I'm a satyr."

"What are you doing here?" Luke asked him.

"Chiron sent me. That's all I know. He just told me to find three half-bloods, one of them is a daughter of Zeus. I just followed the strongest scent to here." He looked at us up and down. "You must be the daughter of Zeus. I could smell you all the way over in Long Island."

"Chiron… like, Camp Half-Blood Chiron?" Luke asked.

"That's the one! Don't hurt me." He said.

Luke lowered his sword. "He's okay, Thalia." I dropped my spear to my side. Luke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "So, Chiron sent you to find us?"

Grover looked at both of us for a moment before saying, "Why don't we go back to your camp and I'll explain?"

* * *

"So, let me get this straight… my dad actually followed through on his word for once, and Chiron sent you to come get us, and now you're gonna take us back with you to Camp Half-Blood?"

Grover nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah."

We sat in silence for a moment. Annabeth was still sound asleep in the sleeping bag, using Luke's jacket as a pillow. "What you said back there… did you say you could _smell_ me from Long Island?" I asked.

Another nod from Grover. "Yup. Satyrs have an impeccable sense of smell. Demigods have a special scent that we have a talent for smelling. Camp Half-Blood employs us as seekers."

"Seekers?" I asked.

"Uh huh. They send us out to schools around the country. We sniff out the half-bloods and bring them to Camp."

An awkward silence settled on us. I looked at Luke, who seemed to be deep in thought. "What if we don't want to?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" Grover and I asked in unison.

"What if we don't want to go with you?"

"Oh. Um…" Grover mumbled, shuffling his hooves.

"Luke, can I talk to you in private for a second?" I asked, standing up. Luke got up and I led him off where no one could hear us.

"Luke, maybe we're supposed to do this."

"And maybe we're not! We've been doing fine on our own."

"Define 'fine' for me, please. Because I'm not sure if 'fine' is what we all are. Luke, I almost lost my friggin' leg yesterday! My _leg_! What would you have done if we weren't near help and I didn't have one of my legs? Hmm? What would you have done?"

"I would have carried you as far and as fast as I could to civilization."

"What about Annabeth?"

"She would have followed!"

"Okay, if you were going, 'as fast as you could,' there is no way a seven-year-old girl is going to keep up!"

He fell silent. "Luke, what would you do if you lost one of us? What would _I_ do if I lost _you_?" I asked, my voice soft.

He shook his head. "You're right."

I sighed. "Then it's settled?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We're going back with the satyr."

We both walked back into the clearing, sitting down next to Grover again. "We'll go with you." I told him.

He nodded happily. "Oh. Good. I don't know what I would have done if you guys decided you didn't want to." He pulled out his backpack and reached in. I thought he was going to give us something, but he just retrieved a tin soda can. He took a large bite out of it and then held it out to me. "You want some?"

I was about to answer when I heard Annabeth stirring. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, a yawn escaping her mouth. She smacked her lips as she looked at us. Confusion registered in her face as her eyes landed on Grover. "Uh… who's that?" she asked, pointing a finger at the satyr.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck. "Well… it's a long story…"


End file.
